Wagering games, like those in a casino environment, for example table games and slot machines, are typically each played individually by a single player who makes a wager and collects or loses coins, or credits and the like, based upon the outcome of the game played. The outcome is ordinarily independent of the result of any other player or slot machine in the casino.
Table games are well known wagering games (e.g., blackjack, craps, roulette) generally played by multiple players who sit around a physical table and make wagers on potential outcomes of a game prior to the play of the game. In some variations, the players participate in the play of the game while in other variations, the players watch the game being played, but in all such variations, each player collects or loses based on the outcome of the game as it relates to his or her own participation. In table games, generally a player makes a wager, the game is played (such as by a casino employee called the dealer or in some cases by a computer) following which the result of the game is evaluated, and payment is made to the players based on the outcome of the game. In some table games, such as roulette and keno, the player's involvement is limited to placing a bet and watching the outcome on a wheel or board. All players win or lose independent of the result for any other player.
In other table games, such as blackjack and Pai-gow poker, the player makes one or more decisions during the course of the game (such as drawing or grouping cards) and the outcome is determined by evaluating the hand of the player against the hand of the dealer. Again, all players win or lose independent of the result for any other player.
In still other table games, such as five-card draw poker and Texas-hold 'em, players play each game against other players at the table by making wagers into a common prize pot, with a single player winning the game and collecting the prize pot while all other players lose and are excluded from collecting any portion of the prize pot at the end of the game. In this type of game, the players win or lose money from each other. In a casino environment, the operator or casino takes a fixed percentage of the prize pot without any risk of loss, regardless of the skill of each player. Players enjoy playing table games in a group setting, whether competing against the house or each other.
Players participating in table games play as a community, and the group participation is a feature upon which players choose to play table games, versus the solitary play of slot machines. Although some table games, such as roulette, blackjack and certain poker games can be played by a single player against the dealer, most players typically prefer to play table games with multiple players participating in the game. Table game players share their experience with, and evaluate the result of their play, against other players at the same table. This community play aspect is a desirable feature of table games for some players.
Yet gaming machines, such as slot machines, poker machines, blackjack machines, are sometimes more desirable to a player than a table game. Gaming machines are well known in the art and typically use spinning mechanical reels or a video display to display the results of game. These machines minimally contain a player input device, for example, mechanical buttons, a handle or a touchscreen monitor. Players wager money on plays of the game, often registered as credits on the machine. Each machine registers the money wagered by the player, whether it is through the insertion of coins or bills, voucher tickets, credit cards or electronic funds transfer. Each machine offers the player a means to cash out, whether by dispensing coins from a hopper, dispensing bills, printing a voucher ticket, applying credit to a credit card or other electronic funds transfer.
Traditional slot machines have a plurality of rotating mechanical drums, or reels, which rotate and then stop to show symbols on one or more paylines drawn across the reels. These may be actual mechanical reels, or more often a computer simulation on a video display. Players wager coins, or credits, on one or more of these paylines, actuate spins and receive a payment for certain combinations of symbols on a payline for which a wager has been placed. More recent video slot machines offer these same types of features and often add in a bonus game that occurs when a game results in a particular symbol combination. In many such cases, the outcome and play of the game is solitary to the player making the wager. In most cases, there are no skillful choices made by the player to affect long term results.
As noted above, a bonus game is offered on many slot machines. The bonus game is usually actuated for play at random times, as by certain combinations resulting from the wagered play of the game, such as the occurrence of a certain pattern of symbols on the paylines wagered upon by the player on the slot machine, for example, a row of “bonus game” symbols appearing upon a wagered payline. The bonus game, once actuated, generally consists of a separate game played on the display of a slot machine. For example, a player selects objects from a choice of objects offered, and receives coins or credits based upon the value of the objects revealed after the game is played. In other bonus games, an event is displayed for the player's amusement, and the player receives coins or credits based on the outcome of the event.
Some players enjoy playing in groups. Gaming machines are frequently arranged within a casino in groupings of like games, such as areas for video poker machines or in banks of games with the same or similar titles, themes or brands. During their individual play, players often enjoy social interchange with players on nearby machines, witness and comment upon outcomes achieved by other players, and evaluate their results against what other players achieve.
To enhance the social aspect of gaming machines that the players find desirable, casinos frequently arrange contests where players play against one another. One contest, known as a slot tournament, generally involves play by each participant at his own slot machine over an allotted period of time, for example five to fifteen minutes, or using a fixed number of credits. The players may play one at a time or preferably simultaneously with other players in the tournament. The winner of the contest is selected by the determination of which player has scored the largest amount won during the tournament period.
Slot machine tournaments require a substantial effort by the location, frequently involving time consuming movement of slot machines to create a contest area, and reprogramming of slot machines, which may include changes to the machine hardware by replacing computer chip sets, to set up the machines for the tournament. Additionally, the movement and reprogramming of the slot machines by the casino may require governmental regulatory supervision, frequently involving a physical inspection of the machines by the regulator prior to the tournament. Play in tournaments must be hosted by the location to seat players at the machines, monitor play during the tournament, and determine the winner. Locations expend substantial resources to create slot tournaments because slot machine players enjoy these multi-participant events, which differ from normal individual slot machine play by offering increased social and community involvement amongst the participant players.
These gaming machines may not necessarily function totally independently. In certain desired instances they can be interconnected, such as through a LAN in a local environment, or a wide area network (private) or the Internet in a more global application, so that multiple players can participate at the same time.
Participation may be in the form of a display which shows game information, including any bonus game information, drawn from a plurality of gaming machines linked to a centralized display. Both U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/844,082 to Gomez and European Patent EP 0 981 119 A2 to DeMar discuss a linked plurality of gaming machines with a centralized display to allow greater visibility of the bonus game from individual gaming machines.
Gaming machine players enjoy opportunities to play games as a community on a regular basis. A variety of community bonus games have been suggested. The following discusses some of these.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,779,544, 5,976,015, and 5,997,400, all to Seelig, disclose a race game played on individual gaming machines. The progress of each player is illustrated either on the individual machine or on a common display. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,779,544, 5,976,015, and 5,997,400 to Seelig describe a plurality of slot machines combined with an overhead racing display which carries a number of racing elements. The Seelig patents describe a game with an associated racing element assigned to each player upon initiation of the game. Each time a player wins at the game being played, or each time the slot machine handle is pulled, or each time a coin is played on one of the slot machines, the player's racing element is moved a predetermined distance.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,575 to Brown describes a race game played simultaneously by multiple players. A player selects a racecar in one embodiment and inputs a wager. The wager requires an input by the player as to the number of races desired to be completed up to a preset maximum. Thus, the player can choose to bet upon all stages (races or laps). Each racecar is randomly assigned a finishing position upon initiation of the first race. The player has no control over the finishing position.
There are linked gaming machines where multiple players play a base game to achieve a bonus game. The “Super Spin Wheel of Fortune” game allows multiple players to play linked slot machines for a chance to spin the giant wheel in the center of the linked gaming machines. Multiple players that reach the bonus game, within a specified time period, may participate jointly in spins of the bonus wheel. Each spin of the bonus wheel is independent from one another.
There are linked slot machines configured to give periodic bonuses to players playing on the plurality of linked gaming machines, for example, the linked slot machines of “Moneytime” provided by Mikohn or “Hurricane Zone” by Acres. There are also linked gaming machines configured for multiple players to play a base game for a growing, or progressive jackpot. There are also linked gaming machines configured for multiple players to play a base game for a chance to achieve play of a bonus game. The bonus game is played individually on the player's gaming machine to try to win a portion of the progressive jackpot. Examples of such progressive jackpot games include the “Cash Express,” “Millioniser” and “Mr. Cashman” by Aristocrat, “Fort Knox” and “Party Time” by IGT and “Jackpot Party” by WMS Gaming.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,660 to DeMar discusses gaming machines with bonus games that allow the player to wager additional credits to enhance the value of the bonus game. The more a player wagers, the more credits awarded for a winning combination.
There have been gaming machines where skillful choices improve long term results; however, in most cases this has been available in a design where perfect “skill” gives the maximum award set by the operator and a lack of skill reduces the award. Examples of gaming machines of this form include video draw poker as well as slot machines including Yahtzee, Battleship, Trivial Pursuit and Ripley's Believe It or Not.
The video poker game “Flush Attack” by Sigma, allows a plurality of gaming machines to enter a special mode where the next winning hand, or flush, on any machine is paid a bonus award.
The popularity of the games, and these gaming machines, derives from a number of factors, some of which are the apparent likelihood of winning (typically money in a wagering environment), the attractiveness of the gaming machine, and the basic level of entertainment provided by the game/gaming machine itself. It is therefore one general driving force in the gaming industry to come up with new and exciting games and gaming machines that will attract players, entertain them, and promote repeated play.
One way that has been tried to accomplish the foregoing has been to enhance the play of a base game, where the base game may be a relatively standard-type game already established in the industry, with a bonus game. Such a bonus game can be one which is similar to the underlying game being played, or can be completely unrelated to the base game in the sense of being a game different from that being played as the base game. For instance, the bonus game could be a separate wheel that is spun in the course of play of a slots game when triggered by some event in the slots game.
Players would enjoy opportunities to play otherwise solitary games as a community with other players, differing from individual slot machine play. Multiple linked wagering devices with interactive play would offer increased social and community involvement amongst the participant players. The addition of skill to a community bonus game can be a great enhancement to playing in solitude on an individual machine. The purpose of the present invention is to create features that enhance the community participation and enjoyment of a shared game on multiple machines.